GARDEN ROUTE NEWS -Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay were the towns in South Africa which enjoyed the largest inflow of rich visitors last December.

This is according to an article published on www.businessinsider.co.za on 25 February.

However, in percentage terms it was smaller beach towns, many on the South Coast, which saw the largest increase in holidaymakers, according to the report.

Data analytics group Lightstone and Tracker - a vehicle tracking company - determined which South African towns were the most popular by monitoring increases in vehicle traffic volumes, then eliminating lower income earners who returned home, to cities such as Polokwane, rather than heading for paid-for holiday accommodation. Counting those richer people only, the large towns of Plettenberg Bay and Mossel Bay saw the highest inflow of visitors in absolute numbers, when comparing November with December.

Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast came in at number three in terms of new visitors in December, compared to what the population had been the month before.

"The influx of visitors to the Garden Route (Mossel Bay and Plettenburg), shows how their popularity has grown in the last several years, with the coastal towns working hard to draw visitors with unique attractions and amenities," Linda Reid, Lightstone's chief commercial officer, is quoted as saying in the article.

Other coastal towns that made the top 10 list in terms of visitor numbers, for richer people, include Great Brak, Jeffrey's Bay, Still Bay and Hermanus. While bigger towns saw the highest number of visitors, smaller towns saw far bigger jumps in their populations in percentage terms over December.

Article compiled by Estrelita Moses www.businessinsider.co.za